What phrase from the Declaration of Independence begins its famous equality statement highlighted by America250?
Answer
All men are created equal
“All men are created equal” begins the Declaration of Independence’s famous equality statement highlighted by America250.
The full sentence says that people are endowed with certain unalienable rights, including “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.” The wording appears in the second paragraph of the declaration, after its explanation of why political separation may become necessary.
The phrase became one of the best-known statements in United States political language. Its meaning and scope have been debated throughout American history, particularly because slavery and legal inequality continued after the declaration was adopted.
Abraham Lincoln later made the equality language central to his arguments about the meaning of the founding. The phrase should not be confused with “We the People,” which opens the Constitution, or with “Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness,” which appears later in the same paragraph.